Allometry and size control: what can studies of body size regulation teach us about the evolution of morphological scaling relationships?

The relationship between organ and body size, known as morphological allometry, has fascinated biologists for over a century because changes in allometry generate the vast diversity of organism shapes. Nevertheless, progress has been limited in understanding the genetic mechanisms that regulate allometries and how these mechanisms evolve. This is perhaps because allometry is measured at the population level, however adult organ and body size depends on genetic background and the developmental environment of individuals. Recent findings have enhanced our understanding of how insects regulate their organ and body sizes in response to environmental conditions, particularly nutritional availability. We argue that merging these developmental insights with a population genetics approach will provide a powerful system for understanding the evolution of allometry.

Reproductive burden, locomotor performance, and the cost of reproduction in free ranging lizards.

A reduction in the locomotor capacity of gravid females is considered to be a cost of reproduction if it leads to an increased risk of mortality. In this study, we measured the change in endurance between gravid and postgravid female side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) as a test of the cost of reproduction. We also altered reproductive investment in some females by direct ovarian manipulation (yolkectomy), which decreased reproductive burden by 30%. Regardless of experimental treatment, all females had lower endurance when gravid. Endurance was 28% lower in gravid females from the yolkectomy treatment and 31% lower in the unmanipulated females relative to postoviposition females. The experimental reduction in clutch mass resulted in a 21% increase in endurance of gravid yolkectomy females relative to control females. Postovipositional endurance was significantly higher in the yolkectomized females than unmanipulated females, which suggests that the cost of reproduction carries over to postoviposition performance. Unmanipulated females exhibited a significant negative association between endurance and size-specific burden. Endurance was not correlated with clutch size or size-specific burden in the yolkectomy females. Survivorship to the second clutch was higher in the yolkectomy females. The results from a logistic regression showed the probability of survival to the second clutch was significantly and positively associated with endurance after controlling for the effects of treatment. Our analyses demonstrated that the decrement in performance associated with current reproductive investment represents a cost of reproduction expressed as diminished locomotor performance and lowered survivorship to the next clutch.